Ahmedabad – Part X: Sidi Bashir Mosque and the Shaking Minarets

This mosque is believed to be constructed by Sidi Bashir, a slave of Sultan Ahmed Shah. The mosque was constructed in 1452. Only the minarets and arched central gateway remain today, as the body of the remaining part of the mosque was destroyed in 1753 during the war between the Marathas and the Gujarat Sultanate.
The mosque is famed for its 21.3 meter high shaking minarets (jhulta minars). A gentle shaking of either of the minarets results in the other minaret vibrating, though the connecting passage between them remains free of vibration. The minarets were designed to shake to protect against earthquake damage, which certainly worked in 2001.

The Shaking Minarets of Sidi Bashir MosqueA closer view of one of the minaretsThe arched gatewayArchitectural details of the pillarsArchitectural details of the pillarsArchitectural details of the pillarsArchitectural details of the pillarsArchitectural details of the pillars